Modern inventory systems, such as those in mail order warehouses, supply chain distribution centers, airport luggage systems, and custom-order manufacturing facilities, include a number of complex systems, including robots, automated shelving systems, radio frequency identification (RFID), and automated scheduling and routing equipment. Some systems, for example, comprise robots that travel to shelving systems, retrieve them, and return the shelving systems to a central location for additional processing.
Automated warehouses exist that use robots, for example, to move shelves from a storage location in the warehouse to a shipping location (e.g., for inventory items to be boxed and shipped). These shelving systems can be densely stocked, tall, and otherwise cumbersome. This can make retrieval and identification of products difficult. In addition, transporting the shelves for processing, as opposed to retrieving a single item from the shelf, may not be the most efficient way to retrieve stock from the warehouse.